Organs Of A Diluted Mind
by MiataCatashi
Summary: A story of Ryou's average day dealing with rebellious organs; fluttering stomach, racing heart and a cold, verbally/post-physically abusive ring spirit. Contains hilarity, intimate sex, emotionally scarring pasts, warmth, and love. Read summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**I started writing this six years ago. Honestly, I think it's utter crap compared to how I can write now. I just couldn't bring myself to leave it on my hard drive unfinished. I tried to edit the "amateur-ness" out of it as much I could without tossing the whole storyline, but it still sounds cheesy and middle-schoolish. So keep in mind that the later chapters will sound WAY better and miles ahead of these beginning ones. -_-  
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PROOF THAT I CAN WRITE BETTER THAN THE CRAP THAT IS THIS FIRST CHAPTER!!!

(Chapter 2 preview)

A giant explosion went off in his mind of every emotion under the moon and stars, from overwhelming, fanatical, heat-rushing ecstasy to that weird emotion one gets when they receive 16,000 Slifer cards as a birthday gift in a dirty gym sock worn by the fat kid on sprinting day, as Ryou felt Bakura sliding up against his back with his next step. His face was on the brink of turning blue. Bakura was so close! So close and here and now and everything was getting hotter, everything was spinning, almost teetering off of the edge of the planet. Ryou felt like gasping, gulping down gallons of tanks of oxygen like a land-cast herring. His lungs seemed to be getting smaller but he refused to show it, not knowing what Bakura would do with the ammunition. It was suddenly smoldering and every inch of his body was screaming! Screaming to run or lean back into the spirit's chest or shut his eyes tight or squirm away knowing that the reason for this was wrong.

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**Chapter 1**

_My heart is alone_

_My presence is far from sight._

_His heart seems of stone_

_His presence enslaves the light._

_We are opposites him and I_

_Like the land_

_Like the sky_

_I am as simple and as plain as desert sand_

_He is as marvelous as a starry night_

_I am shy, he is bold_

_And I am as quiet,_

_As he is cold_

_He is taunting, he is malicious, he is cruel,_

_He makes me afraid, he makes me cry._

_But I love him, nonetheless, for I am a fool._

_To love such a man, I do not know why._

_There is no other in my heart I cherish more_

_I hate him so badly,_

_But he is also who I adore_

_He feels nothing for me though, I do say sadly_

_That I can say for sure_

_He makes me nervous, he makes me blush._

_I cannot be with him, that I am very sure of_

_It sickens me this stupid, stupid crush!!!_

_But even if I can't be with him_

_To me, he is still_

_My Bakura._

"What are you doing?"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Ryou screamed and fell back in his chair, scattering his papers all over the floor. The boy looked up at the upside-down image of his clearly un-amused yami. "Um…nothing…j-just some l-late night homework i-is all," stammered the younger of the two, standing up quickly. He was blushing a deep crimson.

Bakura coldly stared down at his hikari.

"Well that's good to know. Now get the $%* out of my room, muskrat."

"W-what?"

"We had an agreement, remember? We saw your dad to the airport half an hour ago, so now _**your**_ room has officially become _**my**_ room, get the picture?"

The boy nervously shuffled his feet under the spirit's intense glare. "Oh…I-I'm sorry…I totally forgot." It hadn't really been a deal that Bakura would get his room when Ryou's father was away on business. More like a guilt trip concocted by the 'poor, lonely soul that was forced to sleep in a cold, metal ring.'

"Don't apologize you little prick, just get out! And take all of that crap on the floor out with you!"

Ryou fisted his hands and hid his eyes, trying desperately hard not to show his anger. "Alright." He quickly got down onto the floor and began to pick up his poems and assignments. He made sure not to look up at Bakura. If he so much as took a glimpse at the tomb robber's shoes he would probably lose all control of his motor functions and end up going Psycho-Ryou on his yami which wouldn't be a pretty sight.

He finished gathering his papers and was heading out the door when he was abruptly shoved onto the ground, receiving a really bad rug burn on his knee in the process.

"And stay out you stupid, little, albino freak!" Bakura yelled down at him, slamming the door and locking it.

There Ryou lay sprawled on the floor with a bunch of papers that kept refusing to be gathered. The only light in the house came from underneath the door of "Bakura's" room, leaving him and the rest of the house in darkness. The boy began to collect his things again, having no one but his brain to keep him company.

_That jackass!!!_

"Normally I wouldn't like to insult people, but you are absolutely right! He _**is**_ a jackass!!!"

_What the hell crawled up his butt and died?!?!_

"Okay now you're going too far."

_I am not. He deserves every single word that is likely to come out of my figurative mouth!!!_

"…That's true, I guess. I just can't understand it! Why can't I ever stand up to him?"

_Because you're weak! The only reason why he pushes you around is because he __**can **__push you around!!! You have to learn to get some backbone, dammit!!! Be a man!!! Stick up for yourself!!!_

"……I have to start using paper clips. Seriously, half of my work looks like it's been through the washing machine."

……………_BOY, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!?!?!?!_

The british gave a gentle sigh. "Yes…unfortunately I am listening to you. It's just…I can't. If I did stick up for myself, Bakura would squish me like a little insect. I don't stand a chance against him." Getting up off the floor, Ryou made his way to the living room, his papers pressed against his chest with both arms.

His mind stayed silent for a while, trying to think of a reply.

……_Hey! Why don't you just get your dad to move? He has enough money._

"That won't work and you know it. Bakura will just track me down with the Sennen Ring…he'll find me eventually."

_Well…there has to be some way to be free from his grasps!!! There has to!!! You're like a prisoner in your own goddamn home!!!_

"My dear brain, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to face facts. I am…without hope."

But-!

"That's just the way it is. I'm just destined to be miserable and weak, okay?"

Ryou walked into his frigid, moonlit living room. He set his papers on the coffee table and curled on to the couch, noticing, as the cold leather texture touched his body, how the sofa seemed as though decades had passed since its cushions had experienced the warmth of a human body. His skin quickly flared with goose bumps and shivers haunted his spine. The boy's loose fitting pajamas did little to stifle the chill that lingered from within the spaciously empty house.

Ryou…how can you love a person who treats you like scum from the bottom of the ocean?

That was a good question. It had been so long that the exact when, why, and how his crush had come about had long since been forgotten. Bakura was possibly the last person the spirit holder had imagined he'd fall in love with. To him, Ryou was simply a stain on the thief's perfect world. To him, Ryou was an object he could control. Blurring slowly began to shroud the corners of the hikari's vision.

To Bakura, he was nothing.

"To tell you the truth…I don't really know. I want to hate him, I really do, but I just can't!" Tears started to well up in his eyes and his voice was beginning to crack. "My heart just won't hear it! It refuses to see Bakura as the monster he really is! I just want to shoot him and bury him alive…"

So do I!!!

A soft chuckle was emitted from the light one along with a sniff as he fruitlessly tried to keep his tears from breaking loose. "I know you do, brain, I know you do. You've been very loyal to me since this whole fiasco with that damn tomb robber started but, no offense…I'm gonna need to talk to an actual person soon or I'm going to lose it."

_None taken. It's actually kind of creepy how you keep referring to me as an actual human being, so it's quite understandable really. If you find someone else to share your feelings with then you'll have to quit bugging __**me**__ about your personal problems. I mean, my god man!!! I already do your Calculus homework for you!!! Now you're making me listen to your incessant yapping about "Bakura this" and "Bakura that" and "blah-blah-blah-blah-blah!!!" What, are you __**trying**__ to make me explode?!?!_

Ryou giggled at his brains rant a bit through his tears. His bottom lip began to quiver slightly as his tears flooded past his eyes and down his heated face onto his hair. "You're a good organ, brain. I wish heart and erection were as good of organs as you are…DAMMIT WHY CAN'T I STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM?! I'M SO WEAK AND PATHETIC!!!" He grabbed onto one of the couch's throw pillows and cried out in torrent sobs, no longer able to hold them in. "DAMMIT!!! I'M GETTING A HEART TRANSPLANT THE MOMENT I GET THE CHANCE!!!"

~*~Bakura's POV~*~

"Ah, finally! A bed to call my own." Bakura took a running leap and dived onto the sheets. It had been a whole month since the thief had slept on a proper mattress. He missed the comfy softness of his hikari's bed.

Ryou's faint voice came from behind the door just then. "Normally I wouldn't like to insult people, but you are absolutely right! He _**is**_ a jackass!!"

_What the-? By Ra, he's not talking to himself again is he? _Bakura quickly covered his ears with a pillow.

"Okay now you're going too far," pause, "……That's true……I guess……Why can't I ever stand up to him?"

_Is he really that stupid? Doesn't he know that his door isn't soundproof or is he just ignorant?!?! I mean __**I'm **__supposed to be the total nut-job and even __I__ don't talk to myself!!! That gay albino…_

"(sigh) Yes……unfortunately I am listening to you. It's just…I can't. If I did stick up for myself, Bakura would squish me like a little insect. I don't stand a chance against him."

…_Huh. Ryou's smarter than I thought. But… still annoying as hell. Maybe I should kick his ass. I'll have a reason to._ The sennen spirit grunted as he lazily rose to a slouched, sitting position on the edge of the bed, seriously pondering the thought of beating the prattling hikari in the living room.A sudden realization struck him then. _Oh crap, wait I can't! If I leave any more marks then the damned pharaoh will eventually figure out that I'm not in the Shadow Realm anymore. _Bakura let out a heavy sigh while scratching the back of his head, and slowly got to his feet before walking toward the door. _Oh, well._ _If I can't get him to stop, I might as well listen to Whitey's psychobabble. Maybe'll finally reveal where his chocolate stash is._ Careful as to not let the hinge creak, the yami quietly cracked open the door to better listen in on the younger.

"My dear brain, I'm sorry but, you're just going to have to face facts. I am…without hope." pause "That's just the way it is. I'm destined to be miserable and weak, okay?"

_Miserable? Weak?_ _Psh! I could've told him that!_

"To tell the truth…I don't really know. I want to hate him, I really do, but I just can't!"

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Him? Who's "him"?_

"My heart just won't hear it! It refuses to see Bakura as the monster he really is! I just want to shoot him and bury him alive…"

_He~~llo! So he really does hate me. _A wicked smirk played off of the tomb robber's lips. He felt like laughing just then but kept quiet as to not alert Ryou. _All of this time I thought I was going soft or something!…Wait a minute…"him"? _Bakura's eyes widened. Without thinking, he quickly rushed out into the hall; the door's squeak as it flew open was immediately swallowed up as the other continued talking aloud. Leaning back, tight against the wall, the tomb robber listened close to his hikari's words and sobs.

"You're a good organ, brain. I wish heart and erection were as good of organs as you are…DAMMIT WHY CAN'T I STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM?!?!?! I'M SO PATHETIC!!!"

_Is he crying?………HA, FINALLY!!! I knew he was gonna crack eventually. The hussy, heh…wait a minute………am I "him"?…That means that he **doesn't** hate me…but he said he wanted to shoot and bury me………………Did he just say something about an erection?…Okay, now I'm confused._

Bakura peered cautiously into the living room. There Ryou laid, his back turned toward the thief. His shoulders heaved now and again from hiccups or sniffles and his whole body was shivering from the cold.

_Aw, poor hikari, he's all cried out_, the spirit thought with a silent, mocking snort.

He chuckled as he slowly crept his way to his pale light. The white-haired yami reached down and turned Ryou's face towards himself. The boy had obviously cried himself to sleep. His cheeks were bright red, his under-eyes were slightly puffy, his bottom lip was quivering, and his pillow and a bit of his hair was a little damp. Bakura smirked at the sight of his light's miserable, tear-stained face and bent down to kiss the other's forehead lightly. "You're lucky you're such entertainment to me or I would've killed you long ago."


	2. Chapter 2

**I actually worked hard on remaking this, but unfortunately in a hurry. Grammar might be iffy.**

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**Chapter 2**

_Ryou?…Ryou…Ryou!!! Boy wake up!!! The sun is already high in the sky!!!_

"So?"

_That means that it's already around noon!!! YOU'RE MISSING SCHOOL!!! YOU'RE ALREADY SEVEN HOURS__** LATE**__!!!_

"I don't care."

_WHAT?!?! ARE YOU MAD!!!_

"I've been a good boy for this long, a day of not going to school won't hurt."

_WHA-DO YOU __**WANT**__ TO END LIKE JOEY WHEELER OR SOMETHING?!?! YOU'RE ALREADY HEADED THE RIGHT PATH!!! YOU'RE NOT-wait…this is about Bakura isn't it?_

"Yeah."

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be at school?"

_Speaking of which…_

"Oh crap…" the boy whispered inaudibly. Ryou slowly turned to his other side, away from the couch cushions, to face the voice, but found no one there.

_Must have been your imagination._

Ryou turned back around…only to find Bakura's face loomed over the couch five inches away from his own.

"……AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

The boy screamed and fell off the couch, thumping his knee on the coffee table. Papers fluttered to the ground all around him.

The sennen dweller had instantly used his spirit powers to transport himself to the other side of the table and was now staring down at his slightly spooked hikari on the floor with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh…I, um…" Ryou hurriedly tried to come up with an excuse for his behavior when a piece a paper slowly landing next to the yami's foot suddenly caught his eye.

_Is it just me, or do those curly swirls on that paper look familiar to you?_

"You gay little Brit, I asked you if you were supposed to be at school." Bakura took a small step forward.

"Y-yes…b-but I decided not to go today…" the said Brit stuttered, trying his best to avoid staring at the note on the floor, in fear of the other catching his gaze.

"You're skipping?"

_Oh #*$…Ryou?…Not to worry you or anything, but that piece of paper that Bakura is about to step on…is your poem…_

"Oh #*$…"

"What was that?"

"Uh… I said what about it?"

"Well," Ryou's heart began to bleed out an SOS as Bakura took a single, leisure step forward, "it's just about %#*ing time! God, what took you so long to finally see that school and 'friends' are a complete and utter waste of time?" A punch to the gut, a cinder block to the face, a firework to the eye, a jagged hacksaw to an ear, hell, something square and sandpapery shoved up his ass would've been a better feeling than what the boy felt when that crinkle resounded.

"Hm?"

Ryou was practically on the verge of passing out cold. His private and most personal thoughts were right under the foot of the one the poem was about.

~*~Bakura's POV~*~

The thief bent down and picked up the paper. He was about to read it when Ryou hopped up onto the coffee table and leapt through the air like a spider monkey, snatching the sheet right out of his hand. Bakura only blinked confusedly and stared at his now blushing hikari.

"Um…haven't you ever heard of personal privacy?"

"……You are one strange queer." The yami simply shrugged and turned to head off to his room, as Ryou seemed to give a relieved sigh.

He stopped at door before turning the knob. Something was bothering him. Whatever had twisted up Ryou's panties seemed to have passed with that letter out of his hands, which he was fine with. He couldn't care one way or the other about what the damn note said. Something was missing.

"Oh, and queer? Just so you know, your door isn't sound proof, so the next time you decide to have a chat with yourself…don't," deadpanned the tomb robber over his shoulder before walking off, a malicious smile the size of the Amazon spread across Bakura's face.

Ah, there it was. The nervous tension! Because God know nothing says 'good morning' quite like the sound of a hyperventilating Ryou.

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Later on in the afternoon, while making lunch for himself and organizing his papers, all the light could think about was whether or not Bakura had heard him say that he loved the yami.

_Of course he heard you! He said so himself that the door wasn't soundproof! We have to get out of here. End it, Ryou, let's just end it all now!!!_

"Hey, don't you go schizophrenic on me!" Ryou whispered cautiously after swallowing another bite of sandwich, "You and I have to stick together on this!"

_You do what you like! I'm going back to Calculus! This is just way to stressing! I bid you good day._

"Wait…what? Hello…hello? Brain? NO, YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE MY COMMUNICATIONS LIKE THIS! WHO AM I GOING TO TALK TO?!?! BRAIN!"

"What are you yelling about?"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!" The younger jumped and, without meaning to, ended up sending his lunch plate flying off like a porcelain Frisbee as he swung back to face the voice behind him, causing the plate to shatter against the cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. The deafening crash was only followed by awkward silence as two sets of eyes stared down at the pieces of broken china. Crayola would easily have paid billions to capture the shade of red Ryou's face turned.

"…You scare **way** too easily." Bakura's quirked eyebrow and cold stare made the boy want to wither away in a dark, dark corner somewhere.

Ryou's hand went straight to the back of his neck, a nervous habit of his, as he tried to chuckle at his own clumsiness. "Y-you…uh… surprised me…"

"…You surprise **way** too easily."

"Heh…yeah…I-I know…" The hikari quickly noticed how stupid he must've looked still standing in his kitchen with a half-eaten swiss-pastrami sandwich and turned back toward the counter to try to find himself a new plate and to also find an excuse to get out of the current staring contest he had with the sennen spirit.

Unfortunately, Ryou could still feel Bakura's eyes burning into the back of his skull. Just as he had set down his sandwich on a new dish a sudden inquiry from the other's mouth sliced through him with a bad air. "You'll agree to anything, won't you faggot?" His skin prickled at the low malicious tone, almost as if the nasty intentions radiating from Bakura were freezing the air itself. There was no way that this conversation was going to go anywhere good.

"You're just so stupid and easygoing, aren't you?" the thief spat hatefully as he took another step closer. Ryou could just hear the smirk on his face. The boy was suddenly starting to hear his heart thumping fearfully loud, blood pumping in his ears as the other stepped even closer.

A giant explosion went off in his mind of every emotion under the moon and stars, from overwhelming, fanatical, heat rushing ecstasy to that weird emotion one gets when they receive 16,000 Slifer cards as a birthday gift in a dirty gym sock worn by the fat kid on sprinting day, as Ryou felt Bakura sliding up against his back with his next step. His face was on the brink of turning blue. Bakura was so close! So close and here and now and everything was getting hotter, everything was spinning, almost teetering off of the edge of the planet. Ryou felt like gasping, gulping down gallons of tanks of oxygen like a land-cast herring. His lungs seemed to be getting smaller but he refused to show it, not knowing what Bakura would do with the ammunition. It was suddenly smoldering and every inch of his body was screaming! Screaming to run or lean back into the spirits chest or shut his eyes tight or squirm away knowing that the reason for this was wrong.

There was no way in hell the spirit would be this close to him for the reasons Ryou was thinking of. More than likely, Bakura was probably trying to intimidate him or mock his apparent 'faggot'ness. These thoughts seemed to calm his body down a little bit, at least enough to keep him from completely flipping out and tackling the yami to the floor in a lust-filled rage.

As his mind started to clear in the mere five seconds that had passed like hours, Ryou noticed something that made the fear-hotwire jumpstart again. Within the time it took to bat an eye, his body temperature had dropped from smoldering to graveyard cold.

Bakura had a hand on both sides of the counter around the hikari.

He was completely boxed in.

"Well? Aren't you?" came a hushed but demanding voice directly behind him.

Ryou had almost completely forgotten that he had been asked a question in the first place. Once he had finally recalled it, the predicament he was in hit home a little harder. He couldn't turn around, he couldn't run away, and the thought of how easy it would be for Bakura to ring his neck, like he'd already done so many times before, or bash his head into the counter killed all thoughts of actually sticking up for himself.

"Um…yeah, I guess I am," he answered meekly. Ryou stared down at the counter and tightly clenched his fists by his sides.

There was a small airy chuckle following that statement. "That means that you'll agree with everything I say, right?"

"Well……" Ryou's dreading feeling was sparking wildly off the charts now.

"So…what if I were to call you dumb, ugly, weak, pathetic, disgraceful, and pitiful?" Bakura's voice was hushed and breathy, reminding the boy much of a dark, eerie forest right before a wolf attack. He flinched ever so slightly as the other's knuckle strayed to brush a loose strand of hair behind his ear unexpectedly. Mockingly.

Ryou quickly shut his eyes and dug his nails into his palms, trying his best to shut everything out. The words, the radiating disdain emanating towards him, the brazen gestures against his effeminate behavior and appearance. It was shameful what he had been reduced to in Bakura's eyes. Nothing more than entertainment, a doormat to take all the mental torture that was thrown at him.

He hated it. Hated Bakura. Hated himself. Hated every moment just like this where he had no choice but to degrade himself further and further into a pit just to avoid getting bashed in the face. Almost everyday now. No, definitely everyday. And his eyes were burning. Not tears, never tears, but they burned. His eyes scrunched so tight flashes of white were almost blinding him. Getting worse. Slowly growing, this burning beneath his eyes for the last year and a half. The feeling was spreading dangerously throughout Ryou's entire body like venom, pumping heavily through his veins. And as the thief leaned in closer to his ear, he could suddenly feel something bubbling inside of him, ready burst out from its prison. "Or maybe if I called you disgusting and barely deserving enough to be on the bottom of my shoes?" This surrounding rage that seemed to make his skin steam beneath his clothes. He could feel his teeth clenching subconsciously, almost as if caging the monstrous fury housed within.

All he had to do was keep his tongue held, his hands fisted in his pockets, and especially keep his eyes clammed shut and everything would be all right…hopefully.

The spirit's wicked sneer suddenly fell. "Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" shouted Bakura angrily at Ryou's silence. "Are you deaf along with mentally challenged?! Look at me!!!" He took a quick step back away from the counter and grabbed onto the smaller's shoulder, gripping tightly.

It was odd. Normally, Bakura's hand on him would've shot Ryou through the roof.

Now, not even a twitch.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't yell at me," seethed the smaller boy through clenched teeth.

"Now, Ryou…was that a threat?" There was a small silence, before Bakura roughly spun the other around to face him. "I asked you a question!!!"

Let the world know no fury like a hell never seen before by the likes of man.

Ryou had opened his eyes, opening the cage of the beast.

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**Only six** **more chapters till the smut, five till the dramatic flashback scene of Ryou's past, four to the glimpse of Bakura actually being nice for once, three until he finally holds Ryou in his arms, two until he discovers Ryou's secret crush, and one chapter until Ryou's gigantic volcanic eruption.**


	3. Update

Hey there my "story alert" fans! ^_^ Just popping in to say "Don't give up on me just yet!" Chapter 3 is a paragraph and a half to being doing. -_- Only problem is I've got a major writer's block right near the end. After a lot of stressing, I finally thought that maybe I'd ask you guys what you'd like to expect with a review-vote. Right now I'm in the middle of making two big decisions:

Bakura finds Ryou's note and finds out he's gay, leading Bakura to freak and leave for a bit to clear his head and question his own sexuality. (My original story idea.)

We find out at the very last chapter that he's known about Ryou's crush all along and had read his poem-thing quite a while ago. Making this chapter an all out emotional confrontation. (A new story idea.)

Any interesting ideas of your own of what might happen. (I'm not really considering this option, but who knows, something might catch my eye.)

And I know it just doesn't seem right to just raise your hopes with an "Author has updated" alert and have nothing for you guys except for this stupid note that you have to review with nothing interesting to comment on, so to make it fair, here are two previews, one from Ryou and one from Bakura (please note, there at different points in the chapter):

Ryou

This couldn't be happening. None of this was happening. Why in the world did he think attacking a dark spirit was a good idea? Why the hell did he think it would do anything?! Now Bakura was gonna murder him, skin him alive and bury the husk in the neighborhood park. No hope and no prayer in the world to save him. The only plausible thoughts to ease his fear of death were the chances of the man letting it go, which was probably not going to happen, or the itty-bitty, teeny-weeny chance that Bakura might rape him before he killed him, which was just pushing it.

He was clinging to the door's hinges like a buoy in shark infested waters. His heart was drumming so loudly he could barely hear himself think. This was the end. Ryou had always had a feeling that he was going to die young at the hands of the elder, but he had never imagined an ending quite like this. Failure to wake up early enough to Bakura's satisfaction was the way he thought he'd go. Oh, why couldn't his body stop shivering for one stupid second so that he could try to think up an escape plan?!

Bakura

Throughout the entire beating, all Bakura could hear were frustrated screams and long strings of cursing from the other. Although whether or not Ryou had been aware of the curses leaving his own mouth was questionable. The sennen spirit's head was still currently unwrapping itself from his skull to truly recall what had just happened and for a second there, it almost tasted like someone had stolen his wallet. He might've been severely wrong, but he could've also sworn that he heard Ryou screaming a lot of non-sense that slightly resembled something close to:

"**I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I WAS ABLE TO TOLERANT YOUR**~!*#$^&* %~^$!$#&(%$# ~$**ALL THIS TIME!!! YOU SHOULD JUST **~$%&^$(!~$~^&($#~!#$*^%(^&* **YOUR DAMN **~!!$#^**%^)($#%$*!~$#%&&!*~!~$^~**SEWING YOUR **$#!!!!% **TOGETHER **#$^($#~!#$*&***AND**~!!$#^#($#~! ~$^~($#~!#$*#~!($#($%($#$*&^$)~$(** YOU BLOODY**~!#$^&*%~!$#&!*^ (%#**I'M GOING TO**$^&!($#^!~~^$!#$#$#~$~$%&^#~%&%%$***HANG**$~*$(%~!#^&*%~^%%$*!~!$&($#~&%^)$~$(%~!#$^&*$)~$~^&($#~!#$^&*~!!$#^*%^)($#%%$*!~$^~!#$&($$#~%&#~%&^$)~$$)(!$%&^~$~^&($#~$($#~!#$^&*~!!$#^*%~%$#~^)#($%&%~$^(!**TOPSIDE**!$*!^)($#~!#$^&*~*!!$#^*%^$#%***UNDER**!~$^&~#$&($#~%^&^$)~$(~$%&^ **YOU LOWLIFE**$^~!#$&($#~%&^$)~$(~$%&^$)(!~$~^&($#~!#!!$#^~$$(^!~ **SON OF A** *%^)~$^&(%(^$^&*~%^*&**I'LL MAKE IT SO **^&($#~!#$^*~%&^$)(!~~!#$^$*~!$$&($#~%&^$)~$(~$%&^)$~$%&*~!!$#^*%^)($#%%$*!&(%!!$#^*^)($ #%$*~$*(~!$&$#%&^** THAT YOU'LL NEED TO GET IT OUT WITH THREE HANDS AND A FLASH LIGHT!!!"**

Although this could easily have been his very impressionable imagination at this point.

Bakura's entire form quaked involuntarily as he pulled himself up to a sitting position. He vaguely sensed Ryou scurrying off of him as he finally managed to crack open his eyes and focus a little. It felt like his head was a giant dryer filled with glass and broken strobe lights.

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Confusing? ^_^ Should be. ^_~ If I get a vote, everything will fall into place a whole lot faster. But only if you're interested and want more, otherwise, don't bother.

(I think I just bribed my readers…wow, I'm evil O_O!)


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It all happened so quickly. One moment he was staring at Bakura's annoyed face and the next…

The tomb robber barely had time to widen his eyes as Ryou knocked him to the ground. No. 'Knocking to the ground' was an understatement. More like ramming down to the ground like an explosion with earth devastating force, the type of force that could chip kitchen tiles into thousands of tiny pieces like an anime robot fight scene.

Ryou wanted to scream, to curse the evil bastard for hours until his teeth came loose, to cry out in frustration. Only he didn't. He couldn't. Every time sound attempted to escape his mouth, all that would ring against his ears were his own punches against Bakura. Over and over, again and again and again. He might've been shouting, or he might not have. It didn't matter anymore.

There was crunching and cracking and gasping that felt so good, so very good, that he just couldn't stop. Couldn't stop smashing his fists against the face before him, couldn't stop the blood rushing through him like crazy, forcing everything mute. He was seething with hot rage. Seething like the first tea kettle that had ever managed to burn water. No more thoughts or direction, just the boy's knuckles colliding with Bakura's cheekbone. Bakura's temple. Bakura's jaw.

Smashing, crashing, shattering, careening blow after blow, pounding harder and harder against face bones that were probably cracking, no, definitely cracking. He wasn't going to stop and there was blood on the tiles and it was disastrous and wonderful and he wouldn't stop, Ryou wouldn't stop. He was grabbing his hair, Bakura's hair, in fistfuls and bashing his skull to the hard ground who knows how many times. Wanting nothing more than to feel the skull splinter and explode into smithereens like broken tile pieces.

After what seemed like years, the steam he was feeling in his body slowly started to evaporate, easing away with the tension from his knotted up muscles and clenching fists. Soon his whole body was trembling as he sat straddled across Bakura's midsection, letting his hands fall away to his sides. His breath was coming out in short pants. He was breathing harder than he ever had in his life. Looking down at the bloodied face of the unmoving yami below, he could easily have mistaken him as dead if it weren't for:

"I am so glad right now that I'm already dead. Otherwise, dying would've been such a *%$#&."

~*~ Bakura's POV~*~

Every inch of his body was either aching or numb. Blood was inevitably gushing from the back of his head after the numerous slams to the floor along with his mouth and nose. He wasn't quite to the point of opening his eyes again just yet, feeling that if he did the world might never stop shaking. Who would have guessed that a little thing like Ryou could bring on so much damage?

Throughout the entire beating, all Bakura could hear were frustrated screams and long strings of cursing from the other. Although whether or not Ryou had been aware of the curses leaving his own mouth was questionable. The sennen spirit's head was still currently unwrapping itself from his skull to truly recall what had just happened and for a second there, it almost tasted like someone had stolen his wallet. He might've been severely wrong, but he could've also sworn that he heard Ryou screaming a lot of non-sense that slightly resembled something close to:

"**I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I WAS ABLE TO TOLERANT YOUR**~!*#$^&* %~^$!$#&(%$# ~$**ALL THIS TIME! YOU SHOULD JUST **~$%&^$(!~$~^&($#~!#$*^%(^&* **YOUR DAMN **~!$#^**%^)($#%$*!~$#%&&!*~!~$^~**SEWING YOUR **$#!% **TOGETHER **#$^($#~!#$*&***AND**~!$#^#($#~! ~$^~($#~!#$*#~!($#($%($#$*&^$)~$(** YOU BLOODY**~!#$^&*%~!$#&!*^ (%#**I'M GOING TO**$^&!($#^!~~^$!#$#$#~$~$%&^#~%&%%$***HANG**I$~*$(%~!#^&*%~^%%$*!~!$&($#~&%^)$~$(%~!#$^&*$)~$~^&($#~!#$^&*~!$#^*%^)($#%%$*!~$^~!#$&($$#~%&#~%&^$)~$$)(!$%&^~$~^&($#~$($#~!#$^&*~!$#^*%~%$#~^)#($%&%~$^(!**TOPSIDE**!$*!^)($#~!#$^&*~*!$#^*%^$#%***UNDER**!~$^&~#$&($#~%^&^$)~$(~$%&^ **YOU LOWLIFE**$^~!#$&($#~%&^$)~$(~$%&^$)(!~$~^&($#~!#!$#^~$$(^!~ **SON OF A** *%^)~$^&(%(^$^&*~%^*&**I'LL MAKE IT SO **^&($#~!#$^*~%&^$)(!~~!#$^$*~!$$&($#~%&^$)~$(~$%&^)$~$%&*~!$#^*%^)($#%%$*!&(%!$#^*^)($ #%$*~$*(~!$&$#%&^** THAT YOU'LL NEED TO GET IT OUT WITH THREE HANDS AND A FLASH LIGHT!"**

Although this could easily have been his very impressionable imagination at this point.

Bakura's entire form quaked involuntarily as he pulled himself up to a sitting position. He vaguely sensed Ryou scurrying off of him as he finally managed to crack open his eyes and focus a little. It felt like his head was a giant dryer filled with glass and broken strobe lights.

After his mind cleared, the spirit realized that he was quite at a loss. He wasn't mad. Wasn't scared. A little confused maybe, but besides that, just nothing. Bakura glanced up at the boy, currently on the floor, backed up against a cabinet and staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. This, for some unknown reason, made him smirk. Ryou had somehow gotten away with pounding the name out of Bakura's existence, yet _**he**_was the one that was scared? That was funny!

He couldn't help but laugh. Laugh and laugh hard, because honestly, what type of person paves another person into cement and then trembles in fear? That was like a lion biting a mouse in half and then expecting the mouse to somehow devour it. Although, a laughing, decapitated mouse was a scary thought. Perhaps his laughing was what was scaring Ryou….

But it was just so funny to him!

Bakura continued to laugh even though his entire face was throbbing wildly with pain. His split cheek, lip, skull, and other various cuts were already starting to seal up and scar. The blood covering the tiles and his body was also disappearing away. Spirit matters were always funny that way. What would happen if he left a knife in his arm? Would his body heal around it or would spirity blood ooze from him until he finally took the knife out? Hell, what would happen if his arm got cut off? Would it grow back or would weird tentacles sprout from his stump and reattach the limb back to his body like in that weird Colossal Mayhem video game? It'd probably grow back. And maybe the old arm would disappear like his spilt blood.

_I'll have to experiment some time…Why in the world did Ryou let me get that game in the first place? That game was pointless and stupid. You should be allowed to play the villain._

It was then when he finally noticed how far his mind had wandered while his ghostly body was slurping blood into thin air. This only caused him to laugh even harder to the point where he felt like his sides were splitting.

From his hikari's prospective, that sight must've been pretty frightening too. Which might've been the reason why the boy quickly raced toward his room in a panic, knocking over a few chairs in his wake.

Just as the loud click of the lock on Ryou's door resounded throughout the house, a thought occurred to him that _**maybe**_ this should be a good time to stop laughing.

~*~Ryou's POV~*~

He had been laughing. Oh, merciful god in heaven, he had been laughing. As if the hikari's pathetic attempt was nothing to him.

This couldn't be happening. None of this was happening. Why in the world did he think attacking a dark spirit was a good idea? Why the hell did he think it would do anything? Now Bakura was gonna murder him, skin him alive and bury the husk in the neighborhood park. No hope and no prayer in the world to save him. The only plausible thoughts to ease his fear of death were the chances of the man letting it go, which was probably not going to happen, or the itty-bitty, teeny-weeny chance that Bakura might rape him before he killed him, which was just pushing it.

He was clinging to the door's hinges like a buoy in shark infested waters. His heart was drumming so loudly he could barely hear himself think. This was the end. Ryou had always had a feeling that he was going to die young at the hands of the elder, but he had never imagined an ending quite like this. Failure to wake up early enough to Bakura's satisfaction was the way he thought he'd go. Oh, why couldn't his body stop shivering for one stupid second so that he could try to think up an escape plan?

There was always the window on the other side of the room! But the damn screen! This particular window unfortunately had a non-removable screen panel blocking the way outside. The only way through would be if he had scissors or a sharp blade of some sort to cut through the mesh.

None of which were to be found in Ryou's room.

Thoughts of the Egyptian thief smashing his face against a wall, choking the life from his throat, cutting his skin, bloodying his face, breaking his bones gripping him as they flashed through his mind like a cold sweat. No! He was not going to go back to that.

He had to get away. He had to-

There was a loud sudden thump from his desk.

~*~Bakura's POV~*~

Bakura had quickly transported into the room his hikari was in using his spirit powers. He was only going to…hell, he wasn't quite sure _**what **_he had planned on doing or even what he was going to say when he saw the boy face to face. He wasn't even sure how he felt at the moment. The tomb robber knew that he should've felt angry, but he wasn't even sure whether or not he really was. In truth, for some reason, what he felt could only closely be described as…excitement?

No, it couldn't be, could it?

_**Excitement**__? Really?...Huh, who would've guessed?_

The yami's foot accidentally hit the side of Ryou's desk causing said boy to quickly turn to him with a look that closely resembled a rodent in a trap. The young Brit looked about ready to jump out of his skin.

He was currently scrunched up against the window as far as he could go, looking about ready to break the glass if need be. For some reason, Bakura's eyes only seemed to zoom in on the boy's quivering lip…which for some reason was starting to look mighty appealing at the moment.

Mighty…cute, actually.

"L-look, I'm s-sorry! I-I don't know what came over me back there. It's just that you were-."

"Shut up." He didn't feel like talking. No, right now he felt like toying with his prey. "Tell me, Ryou. Did that feel good to you? Finally being on top for once? Straddling me like that? I've got to tell you, Ri, that beat down really took me by surprise. Would've never guessed someone like you could give me a concussion. What, did puberty finally hit?" With every vile word, he took a stride forward. Much like what had happened in the kitchen but with carpet beneath them this time and Ryou staring him straight in the face.

"Please, don't." The boy's grip was turning white against the window sill, his head flush against the glass.

The fear only made Bakura chuckle. "Don't what?" He was against Ryou in half of a startling second, causing the hikari to yelp in horror and surprise. Cold fingers were shoved into a mass of hair harshly. Not pulling, only giving the impression that he could. "I haven't done anything yet." A whisper so quiet against Ryou's ear it even managed to make the thief shiver. This only caused the spectrum of tremors and whimpers to spread like a toxic virus throughout the other's body. It was delicious.

Delicious and oh, so, enticing. Only for a second, until:

There was a soft hic. Shoulders were no longer trembling, now shaking almost violently. Another hic. And another. And another. Something wasn't going the way he wanted it to. Impossible! This was his time, his world, and damn it, Ryou was supposed to be begging now. Right now! He was supposed to be whimpering and stiffening up ramrod straight and turning warm in the face and everything, everything, EVERYTHING he was supposed to be doing right now, which, again, he was not doing! What the hell was the boy doing? He was…he was…

Crying.

Bakura pulled back in anger only to be met with the sight of his light with tears rolling ever so slowly from squeezed shut eyes. Ryou had given up. Broken and lost and more terrified than Bakura had ever seen him before. He was to the point where he no longer cared if he might be beaten or mocked, because it was as if he was already expecting it to happen anyway.

Suddenly, things were hitting him. Was this what he had really wanted? What he had been craving for so long? What other reason could there be for the years of torture? This had to be the reason! No way could he have done all of that for fun! No way, no way, oh please god, no way! He needed to see Ryou crying to his face, needed to feel power over him. Why he needed to was irrelevant! That had to be the reason. It had to be. Had to be or else he would just be a monster.

What stood before him was someone who was shattered and desperately clinging to himself for comfort. Someone who had finally lost the last piece of hope that held his heart together.

And no matter how hard he tried and tried and tried, Bakura suddenly found that he could no longer find any reason to make this feel right anymore.

He didn't quite remember when he started moving away, or quite even why. It was as if his hand was retracting on its own free will. His face must've looked pretty stupid, gaping with wide eyes. He did, however, remember, after it had untangled itself from Ryou's hair, that his hand had ever so slightly brushed against the boy's neck.

Ryou gasped loudly at the touch and convulsed rather violently at the fingers that graced his throat, probably thinking that he was out to choke him, and fiercely shoved at Bakura's chest with all he had.

"NO! I WON'T GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN!"

He remembered that he had grabbed at the hands on his chest by pure instinct to keep from falling back. Remembered the younger jerking his wrists from the spirit's grip from fear. Remembered the unsteadiness the act had caused.

Couldn't forget the sickeningly loud thunk that echoed from the window sill.

* * *

The ending of this chapter is crappy, I know. Half an hour of staring at this and I was like, "You know what? I'm finishing this right now! I don't care how I do it, this chapter is going to get done!"

For those who didn't notice, I already made a decision as to what story order to follow. If I feel like it, I might make a re-write afterwards following the other decision (meaning an alternate ending).


	5. Why

God, you guys must be getting sick of these. I know if an author kept giving me update letters instead of actual updates, I'd be pretty pissed. BUT, hear me out first.

I know it seems like I keep dropping off the planet, but it's been pretty busy lately, and plus I decided to condense three chapters into one (chapter four), making this the toughest chapter I have ever faced in the history of my fanfiction author-ry. Unfortunately, I just now started working on chapter four because I'm a lazy I'll make you all a deal: the longer I make you guys wait before finally starting to work on the next story, the more tolerance I'll have for threatening comments to update and the longer the previews will be, thus the longer the chapters will have to be when I finish.

**Update:** Here's a sneak preview of Chapter Four (this will probably be the longest chapter in the entire story from here to the end):

Bakura  
The white-haired yami stared down at the unconscious, pale form on his bed as his chest rose and fell for the seventeen-billionth time in the last three hours. Bakura was sitting in a backwards desk chair at the foot of the bed waiting. His eyes were getting sore and his muscles were getting stiff and there was an itch developing behind his left ear but something kept him from moving. Everything was so quiet and somber that it felt as if movement of any sort would create an imbalance. A disruption. Almost as if even shifting his weight would cause Ryou to disappear. In the stillness, the cold, aching stillness that crept through the bones of his fingers and made them creak when he bent them, he could feel his skin stretched tight across his abdomen as his, now numb, left hip continued to sidle off the edge of his chair. He couldn't readjust himself, couldn't move, could barely breathe. Not even after three hours of sitting quietly in the same, _**exact**_spot, never inching in any direction. The bone of his hip was starting to dig painfully against muscle and skin into the chair, but even then, movement was still not an option. If he moved, everything around him would break and shatter and nothing would matter anymore after that, _**nothing would matter**_. He couldn't have that. It needed to matter. It all needed to matter so desperately right here, right now, right friggin' yesterday, more than anything that could possibly ever need to matter in this world and beyond. He didn't know or particularly care what exactly needed to matter at this point, but he knew that at least something, _anything,_ needed to matter to keep him sane. Keep him here.

He needed something to grasp on to and clutch tight in his hand, until day break if need be, to make this all feel okay again. Because it won't. Bakura knows it won't, that it would never be okay again, but he still needed that feeling. He needed to be here.

Here beside his hikari.

There was nothing to expect. Eventually he knew there would be, but not now. Nothing to expect now. Not while the world seemed to hold its breath along with Father Time waiting for those damn eyes to open.

Ryou

They would always go to the same spot and do exactly the same thing. Ryou's parents would lay together in the cotton green and white pinstripe hammock behind the Hydrangea bushes at the corner of the lake talking about nothing and laughing at everything, while little Ryou would run around climbing and lounging in trees, playing with the fireflies, and hanging out in his own little, private tree house that had been abandoned long ago by a group of girls.

Well, he had been pretty sure the tree house belonged to girls. Everywhere he looked, there would be girls' underwear, those weird ta-ta holders that his mom would have in her room, and, for some reason, tons of these big rubber finger looking things that looked really, really, really old and dusty. Back then, he had figured that the girls had used them to protect their fingers when they sewed.

They must've of been really bad at sewing if they had that big of fingers, which would explain why they would need so many of them.


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The bandages, to say the least, looked incredibly stupid wrapped around Ryou's head. In his rush to stop the bleeding Bakura hadn't bothered to worry about the boy's hair, and ended up wrapping the strands with the gauze in thick knots and poofy bundles in a way that resembled one of those yippy Chi-Chi dogs with ridiculously huge, pink bows. The bleeding had stopped at least.

The white-haired yami stared down at the unconscious, pale form on his bed as his chest rose and fell for the seventeen-billionth time in the last three hours. Bakura was sitting in a backwards desk chair at the foot of the bed waiting. His eyes were getting sore and his muscles were getting stiff and there was an itch developing behind his left ear but something kept him from moving. Everything was so quiet and somber that it felt as if movement of any sort would create an imbalance. A disruption. Almost as if even shifting his weight would cause Ryou to disappear. In the stillness, the cold, aching stillness that crept through the bones of his fingers and made them creak when he bent them, he could feel his skin stretched tight across his abdomen as his, now numb, left hip continued to sidle off the edge of his chair. He couldn't readjust himself, couldn't move, he could barely breathe. Not even after three hours of sitting quietly in the same, _exact _spot, never inching in any direction. The bone of his hip was digging painfully against muscle and skin into the chair, but even then, movement was still not an option. If he moved, everything around him would break and shatter and nothing would matter anymore after that, _nothing would matter_. He couldn't have that. It needed to matter. It all needed to matter so desperately right here, right now, right friggin' yesterday, more than anything that could possibly ever need to matter in this world and beyond. He didn't know or particularly care what exactly needed to matter at this point, but he knew that at least something, anything, needed to matter to keep him sane. Keep him here.

He needed something to grasp on to and clutch tight in his hand, until day break if need be, to make this all feel okay again. Because it won't. Bakura knows it won't, that it would never be okay again, but he still needed that feeling. He needed to be here.

Here beside his hikari.

There was nothing to expect. Eventually he knew there would be, but not now. There was nothing to expect now. Not while the world seemed to hold its breath along with Father Time waiting for those damn eyes to open.

When had it gone so wrong? Hell, what did the definition of 'gone wrong' even mean anymore?

~*~Ryou's POV~*~  
A dragging feeling made its way along a part of his body. Whatever part of his body experiencing this sensation at the moment, he still couldn't quite pinpoint. All he knew was that something, somewhere on his body felt a dragging feel-wait, what? A dragging feeling? What was that supposed to mean? Like, he was being pulled across the floor?

_``````````````````````````````Mom?`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
````````````````````````_It's not hurting everywhere, so, by that definition,````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````````everything must be pain.```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
``````_Chocolate's a way better name``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
``````for a cat then Ribberstein. The```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
``````cat should know.`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
``````````````````````````````````_A glass shard cut through his room, angling````````````````````````````````````  
``````````````````````````from his ceiling through his left wall.``````````````````````````````````````````````````

**_Wait, what's going on? What is all this?  
_**_  
````````````````Arctangent is just another fancy term for measuring````````````````````````````````````````````````  
``````````````````````````````the distance of A from the angle y````````````````````````````````````````````````  
_``````````````The door doubled and began chasing its clone around the hinge,```````````````````````````````````````  
````````` creating a revolving door.``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
**_  
Nothing's making any sense.  
_**_  
````````````Don't touch that. The skin is very delicate and you wouldn't want it to tear, right?``````````````````````````````  
_``````````The dragging feeling worsened at the base of his neck and the center of his``````````````````````````````````  
```````````````````elbow.```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
**_  
Everything, please just stop.  
_**_  
``````````````Yeah, how 'bout it? Can he skate around your block?``````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````````````````_The rewind button was set too far back and now the`````````````````````````````````````  
```````````````````dragging was tightening and twisting around his whole body like a````````````````````````````````  
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````noose.``````````````````````````````````````  
**_  
No, stop it!  
_**_  
```````````````````````````````````````Do you pop out at parties? Are you un-poop-ular? Then you need```````````````  
```````````````````````Vitamege…Vegemina…Vege…this stuff!```````````````````````````````````````````````````  
_``````````````````````````A memory started to fight against his wall in an attempt`````````````````````````````````  
```````````````to appear and ward off the glass and swirling mercury air thickening around his feet.`````````````````````  
**_  
Stop.  
_**_  
````````````Despite popular belief, researchers have recently discovered that there may have been a````````````````````````  
````````````````````````````possibility that the Pterodactyl might not have had the ability to fly even````````````````````  
```````````````````````````````````````````````though it possessed wings.```````````````````````````````````  
``````````````````_The memory```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````had made its way from````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````the wall with a struggle—``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````the walls sticky tentacles``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````latching to its back—and```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````was desperately trying to``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````````reach him.``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
**_  
STOP!  
_**_  
``````````````````Don't tell, won't tell. Baby, say, "I won't talk girl, unless you told on me".`````````````````````````````  
``````````````````````````````````````````````````_He didn't know why, but he reached out to the```````````````  
````````````````````````````````````````````memory as it crawled closer and closer.```````````````````````````  
**_  
Somebody help me! I don't know what's going on.  
_**_  
````````````````````````````````````````````````The females, they get crazy!`````````````````````````````````  
`````````````_The walls were growing fuzzy along with the doors and the glass, leaving the memory the```````````````````  
`````````````````````only clear thing in sight as it came close enough to graze Ryou's finger tips.```````````````````````  
``````````````````````````````````````_Hey, there! Looks like we're going to be in the same class.`````````````````````  
`````_Suddenly, it became a need, a _necessity,_ for````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
````````the memory to reach him and for him```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````to grip on tight and not let go. If he```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
```````````could grab it maybe the world`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````would make a little more sense and```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````he needed that more than anything```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
````````````right now. He didn't know if he````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````was breathing or if anything beyond``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
```````````his eyes and hand existed at the```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
`````````moment, but that no longer mattered.`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
**_  
Somebody, please…  
_**  
```````````````````````````The memory was getting brighter and brighter and everything was slowing`````````````````  
`````````````````````````down in a foggy mess and disappearing with a slow and faint swirl, almost as if```````````````  
``````````````````````````colorful flour-water was running through a shower that was left was Ryou and```````````````  
```````````````````````the memory. The memory now wrapping its fingers around the length of his arm. The`````````````  
``````````````````````memory expanding in a shade of white unheard of by the spectrum of visible light. The`````````````  
````````````````````````````` memory seeping through the pupils of his eyes to the front of his mind.``````````````````

_**Bakura.**_

His memory.  
-

_His parent's had kind of made it a tradition. Every year, ever since he was a little boy, whatever year the anniversary was, that would be how many places they would go to as a family. At the end of the day, the family would finish off their date at a beautiful pond where the bright and dazzling moon would always seem so close to them that they could practically reach out and touch it. The stars would shine with the beautiful glow and magical twinkle he could only relate to in the pictures of his Disney fairytale books, and the trees and flowering shrubs created such an incredible ambiance that the thought of pocketing one of the blossoms seemed immoral. __**'Why?'**__ Because I said so. Do you __**need**__ any more of a reason? Have we forgotten where we stand on the totem pole, my dear. Little. Hikari? Surely, you're not that dense." Bakura's grip tightened around his windpipe, causing him to make a slight choking, almost vomiting, sound as what little air he could breathe in burned on its way down to his lungs. He felt like his face was starting to swell __with the accumulated blood as veins thrummed and pulsed against his skull. _

_His family would always go to the same spot and do exactly the same thing. Ryou's parents would lie together in the cotton green and white pinstripe hammock behind the Hydrangea bushes at the corner of the lake talking about nothing and laughing at everything, while little Ryou would run around climbing and lounging in trees, playing with the fireflies, and hanging out in his own little, private tree house that had been abandoned long ago by a group of girls._

_Well, he had been pretty sure the tree house belonged to girls. Everywhere he looked, there would be girls' underwear, those weird ta-ta holders that his mom would have in her room, and, for some reason, tons of these big, rubber, finger looking things that looked really, really, really old and dusty. Back then, he had figured that the girls had used them to protect their fingers when they sewed._

_They must've of been really bad at sewing if they had that big of fingers, which would explain why they would need so many of them._

_Ryou hurriedly raced out of bed and changed into his weekend clothes. After he managed to pull off the miraculous feat of getting his shorts and socks on at the same time while brushing his teeth, the white-haired boy quickly wheeled around to charge into the living room._

_He was met, instead, by a tall order of hard smack of face meeting way-too-ridiculously sculpted chest._

_"And where do you think you're going this early in the morning, muskrat?" The spirit's tone sounded bored if anything as he stood leaning against the doorframe. Bakura didn't even seem that interested in Ryou's answer, really. The dirt beneath the nail of his ring finger took away most of the attention that would have been casted toward the boy's face. It was more like the question was more of a chore than an actual need to fill a curiosity._

_Ryou stumbled back three steps from the door—less out of his loss of balance and more out of the fear and surprise from his precautionary Bakurameter—before finding his proper footing. There wasn't a need to elaborate on his whole family history anyway, seeing how the spirit really wouldn't give a damn for a ha'penny just to know where he was going for the day, so he wasn't quite sure what he might tell him to get him out of the door the fastest. Something not too vague but also not too wordy to make Bakura slap him to make him shut his trap…_

_"Just going out with my parents for their anniversary," Ryou said carefully. His voice wasn't nearly as steady or as loud as he would've liked, but at least he wasn't stuttering this time, "not much else."_

_The yami still didn't look up. "Uh-huh. Just going out? Couple of minutes, perhaps? Hours, even?"_

_"Hours."_

_"How many?"_

_"Eleven."_

_"No entourage, I presume?"_

_"Yugi and the others won't be there, no."_

_"Hm. That's always interesting to hear." Ryou nervously chewed the inside of his cheek. His toes were curling and uncurling themselves through his socks fretfully. For some reason, it felt like he was being grilled by the father of a prom date. He could only hope that his answers were sufficient enough to Bakura's liking._

_The spirit glanced up for only half a second, "You're not going."_

_It really didn't register for a minute what Bakura had said until he noticed that there were no more questions and yet the man still hadn't moved from the door frame._

_"W-wait, wha-?"_

_"You heard me."_

_Normally, this would be the point where he would just agree and do what Bakura said. If this had been any other occasion then maybe he would have. But this was his parents' anniversary, damn it! Their anniversary! Now if his voice could just cooperate for once in his friggin' life to fully say this out loud then that would be all the gummy bears and unicorn poop in the world, wouldn't it?_

_Bakura finally looked up at Ryou who had still yet to say or do a thing. "I'm sorry, was there something else you needed? I'm pretty sure I was quite clear on this subject being done."_

_Ryou quickly looked away. Those eyes were ripping into him again. He could feel it. His face was probably red now too. "Um…I…" The boy lightly cleared his throat, which had somehow dried up faster than a Huggies Supreme. "I-I was w-wondering…why?"_

_Before he could even blink, Ryou found himself on his back, Bakura's hand around his throat, and his head throbbing painfully from the impact. He would've been pissing his pants in fear if he wasn't so disoriented._

_/Please, Bakura, stop it!/ It was all he could do. He couldn't say a word if he tried, so he was forced to use their mental link. /I can't breathe!/_

_"Oh, no, really? And all this time I thought I was helping you by trying to see what shade of purple suited your complexion."_

_/Bakura, I-!/_

_"You what? Thought that maybe if you asked hard enough I might just give in and say yes? Was that what you were hoping for? Thought you'd test if I'd gone soft? I mean, honestly, of all days, you choose today to grow a pair." The thief glared darkly down at him._

_/No, that's not it, I swear! I just wanted to spend time with my family for once!/ If he hadn't been panicking before, he was now. Noises were sputtering from Ryou's mouth that were beyond unhealthy by any means. /Please, Bakura, you're hurting me! I can't breathe! I only wanted to go with my parents because I never get to see them, now PLEASE!/_

_"If I let you up, will you stay home?"_

_Things were starting to fuzz up and words and sounds were coming in on broken airwaves. Every part of his body was growing heavy and it was growing darker and darker and he couldn't breathe or talk or see or think or find any words, any at all, that could make this stop, because he couldn't. The right words to get Bakura off of him were almost there, but he couldn't. He couldn't tell Bakura that he'd stay home. He couldn't say it because he didn't want to see that heartbroken half smile that his Dad made when he was trying to put on a strong face on Ryou's behalf, although he was really in pain on the inside. Because he didn't want his mother to say 'I understand', when she really didn't, and go off to do some imaginary errand for half an hour to keep herself from crying. Because he didn't want to hear her allergy excuse when she came back home and her eyes were all red. Because he didn't want this to be like every Christmas, every birthday, every Father's Day, Mother's Day, and goddamn New year's when one or both of his parents were gone and he was stuck microwaving another goddamn box of Stouffer's and eating it over another goddamn UPS packaged gift. He'd already lost too many holidays and celebrations as it was and damn it all to hell if he'd let his parents' anniversary go down with the rest of those days. He wouldn't, and couldn't, and-_

_Air was making its way into his throat so fast and so suddenly that he almost choked. He was still gasping and hacking as the tension in his veins and face began to unwind._

_"God, you are so pathetic. What do I care anyway where you go?" Bakura's back was turned to him and was starting to retreat out the door. "When you come home tonight just keep in mind that I tried to stop you."_

_"Bakura, wait," Ryou croaked out shakily._

_"What?" Never once had the spirit made a motion to glance back at him._

_Ryou felt beyond grateful at this point. Almost to tears. This was the first time he had ever witnessed Bakura change his mind._

_"Thank you."_

_Bakura's body stilled, his feet coming to a stop at his hikari's words. A silence filled the air for moment before the tomb robber finally spoke, his voice surprisingly gentler than Ryou had ever heard it._

_"Look me in the eyes after tonight and we'll see if you can still say that."_

_And just like that, Bakura's form quickly evaporated and disappeared into the sennen ring._


End file.
